


I'll Be Okay

by Beckon



Series: NSFW Challenge [1]
Category: Mortal Kombat (Video Games)
Genre: Acid wounds, Alternate Universe, Angst, Blind sex, Established Relationship, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Hurt/Comfort, Injury Recovery, Kissing, NSFW Challenge, Oral Sex, Post-Canon, blinded - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-18
Updated: 2019-04-20
Packaged: 2019-10-30 18:32:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17833910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beckon/pseuds/Beckon
Summary: Between passing out and waking up in the Special Forces hospital, Takeda didn't remember anything that would connect the two. All he knew was that when he woke up, he couldn't see- and that he was lucky the doctor got to him before the panic did.__________NSFW Challenge: After An Injury; Hurt/Comfort





	1. Blinded

**Author's Note:**

> So I know Jakeda was something that a few people requested I write again- and the only reason I kept putting it off was because my last Jakeda story (Constant Call to Arms) got stolen, butchered, and then reposted on FF. And that made me a little mad. So this time, I made a SFW edit and cross-posted it on FF so at least mine was up first, so the NSFW part will be a chapter 2 edition. 
> 
> Also I just really liked the AU idea and wanted to flesh it out a bit to set the story.

Sometimes Takeda could still smell the pungent scent of the acid eating away at his own skin.

He could still remember, still almost _feel_ the pain of it just before the acid dissolved his nerves- before the tight packing of snow against his face helped to take the heat off and numb whatever was left over. Before the adrenaline and the pure dread over the corruption of Earthrealm took priority and took his mind off of the constant throbbing that had filled his head.

Before it took his mind off of the blood and tissue that had leaked into and flooded his eye sockets.

Takeda couldn't remember much of running through the frozen forest though, fighting an Osh-Tekk ambush in order to get to the Jinsei Temple.

And he didn't remember much after the ordeal with Shinnok either.

But he did remember the broken ribs and the concussion that had come with trying to slow the Revenant down.

He and Jacqui were absolutely no match against them- but that was never the point of staying behind. By getting the shit kicked out of them, they had distracted the Revenant long enough; by the time the resurrected fighters made it into the Jinsei to assist Shinnok, the battle was already over.

Cassie and Kung Jin had aided Raiden in knocking the former Elder God off of his perch.

Takeda remembered lying on the tiles of the Jinsei Temple's courtyard- the taste of blood in his mouth and the chill in his bones as the rain came down on him.

Breathing hurt.

Moving hurt.

Just _existing_ , being conscious and being well aware of his surroundings was a pain in of itself.

He remembered seeing the white light burst like lightning out of the top of the temple. He remembered watching it make contact with the corrupted clouds overhead, igniting a storm that rumbled in his chest and tugged at his loose ribs.

But after that, it was like someone flipped the light switch and everything went dark.

And as of now, an entire month after the battle for Earthrealm, things were still dark.

* * *

Takeda ran his fingertips along the wall, using it for balance and placement while he counted his footsteps till he reached the closed door of his bedroom. Pausing, he carefully moved a hand forward and brushed it against the door itself, before he guided his hand down to where the doorknob was. And he was careful with opening it this time, managing to avoid hitting himself with it, before he eased himself out through the doorway.

The air was different in the hallway- warmer.

He didn't realize just how cold his room had been until then.

Again, he counted his footsteps, kept the wall to his right before he felt it come to an end and then carefully eased himself around the abrupt corner.

The subtle creak of the floor underneath him, the feeling of cold tiles under his feet let him know that he had stepped out into part of the main room now.

"Hey, hey! Look who's up-"

A soft voice called out from somewhere in front of him, and Takeda instinctively looked up in the direction- although it was pointless given his predicament. He could hear the sound of a chair being pushed against hardwood, the sound of feet landing before they started to move towards him.

He still couldn't recognize footsteps just yet, but he had gotten better at picking out voices- which was harder than he originally thought it'd be.

"Jacqui," Takeda started, before he felt the usual rush of uncertainty come over him, "... right?"

"You're getting better," she teased.

Judging by the sound of her footsteps, she was getting closer to him- up until he felt himself almost jump as she touched a hand to his arm.

He was still getting accustomed to trying to use his other senses to figure out what was going on around him. It was a lot harder than he thought it'd be. Takeda guessed that there was some assumption that his sense of telepathy would give him an upper hand in this kind of situation; instead, it just felt like his senses were all over the place.

His control of telepathy fluctuated more than it was ever stable, which meant that he was usually more wrong than he was ever right.

He had gotten Cassie and Jacqui's footsteps mixed up so many times before that, there for awhile he just waited until one of them spoke before he made a guess. And once before, he thought they were both walking in sync but it ended up just being Kung Jin instead.

But Jacqui always made a point to physically let him know when she was around, when she was close to him.

And it was nice to have a helping hand from time to time, whenever he felt confident enough to move around on his own. He usually spent most of his time in one place so he didn't have to struggle with moving around from room to room. Which given his lifelong training up until now would seem like a moot point, but after having smashed his shin into the same table three times in one hour, he was fine with spending all day on the couch instead.

Takeda felt the way Jacqui gently squeezed his arm before she slowly moved in closer to him, wrapping her arms around him now. He could feel the heat from her body, the subtle tuck of her head against his neck; he heard the subtle hum from the back of her throat as she settled in against him.

Even after everything they had gone through, he still felt the heat rush to his face at the gesture.

He moved a hand to the back of her shoulder to get his bearings, before he slowly wrapped his arms around her just the same- finding an anchor in her steady form.

"Sleep well?"

"Maybe?" he replied as a question of his own. "I don't know, it's kind of hard to tell sometimes."

"Well, you've been in bed for like four hours, so that's a good starting point," Jacqui remarked, before she moved her head to prop her chin on his chest- and Takeda could feel her eyes on him now. "Which also means... you're up for another round on your eyes."

He gave out a long but mostly quiet groan.

Although the soft chuckle that escaped her let him know that it hadn't been all that quiet.

"Already?" Takeda questioned.

"I've been keeping a pretty meticulous track on it- and the doctor said you couldn't afford to skip a session if you want to stay on schedule," she reminded, as she lightly rocked side to side now- moving him with her as she did so. "And General Blade is trusting me to keep you on that schedule."

"Alright, alright."

Takeda felt her pull away, taking his hand with her as she did so.

Carefully following her, he didn't bother on counting his footsteps and instead made sure that he was in the same step that she was in. He listened to the continued creaks in the floorboards and felt the transition from hardwood to carpet once more as they made it to the front of the house now.

He felt his leg brush against the couch, which let him know that they had made it to the living room.

And as he stepped around the corner of couch, he felt Jacqui stop and turn- just before she pushed him down onto the cushions.

"Easy," Takeda teased, seemingly to her delight, before he heard her walking away.

Sighing now, knowing what was ahead of him, he tried to make himself comfortable at least; he moved about and straightened himself up, keeping the arm of the couch against his back and the cushions against his right shoulder. It would've been easier to do the medicine part of this in the kitchen, where at least with tiled flooring nothing would be stained. But the first couple of times they had done so resulted in the pain being so unbearable that he passed out from it.

Ever since then, Jacqui insisted that he be seated during the treatment.

Which honestly, assuming that he could stand and deal with the burning medication so soon out of the hospital was really not a smart move on his part.

Takeda hesitated, before he reached up and removed the blindfold he had been wearing- pulling it down to settle around his neck. Fingertips gently touched at the knotted tissue that was still bubbled around his eyes; he could still feel the subtle pockets between each knot, feeling where the skin had melted on top of itself. He kept his eyes closed, allowing him to feel the way the will-be scar tissues stretched around each one; he could feel how the scar tissue stretched across the bridge of his nose, and had even knotted itself down one of his cheeks.

When he finally did open his eyes and blink, he could feel the tugging of the tissue at each corner- feeling how the tightness was both painful and almost itchy at the same time.

He also took in the solid wall of darkness around him.

And that was the one thing he had underestimated about being blind.

It wasn't anything like simply closing your eyes, or hiding them behind something.

Even with closed eyelids, he could still see light coming through them.

But this...

There was nothing.

Just complete, utter blackness.

"Hey, come on- we're trying to keep those wounds sterilized," Jacqui spoke, announcing her presence as she returned from the kitchen.

"I know," Takeda assured, dropping his hands to his lap now, before he felt the couch shift with her added weight. "I just... it's still so surreal to me."

"Yeah, same here- I mean, not to the same extent you know, but just the... what are the odds?"

Takeda stayed as still as he could while Jacqui did her best to administer the eye drops. Luckily, the burning sensation from them had died down with each session- although he wasn't certain if that was a good thing or not. And Jacqui had gotten better with getting the drops actually in his eyes rather than all over his face. He still didn't like the sensation of it, but there wasn't much he could do about that.

As long as he didn't have to do those facial soaks anymore, he was absolutely fine.

"Okay, I think... those were good," Jacqui remarked, sounding somewhat confident in herself.

He blinked a few times to make sure that the medicine was in, before he carefully rubbed at one eye with the back of his hand. "Well, I can assure you that your aim is better than mine," Takeda replied.

He heard the quiet chuckle in her throat before he felt her hands against his face, gently trying to cup it without touching any of the knotted tissue. He felt the way she turned his head to one side and then the other in a quick way of examining his face.

"Does it... still look bad?" Takeda asked, finding that the question was harder to ask than he thought it'd be. He had no clue what he looked like, he only knew what he felt. And it seemed like all he could feel was mangled skin and growing scar tissue. He tried to convince himself that it was just a matter of the wound feeling like it was a bigger issue than it was; that it was just a mental trick because he couldn't see what had resulted from the injury itself.

Still... he couldn't help overthinking it.

Jacqui hummed this time, which seemed to be her way of buying herself time before she gave an answer. Coincidentally, it seemed to be a habit of Cassie's as well, not that the blonde did it often considering she seemed to have a lot to say at any given time.

"It looks bad," she finally answered, "- but everything looks bad before it heals. You should've seen me after one of my Kickboxing tournaments. My face was twice the size it should've been, and only on one side too, so my whole head looked lopsided. Dad called me the Elephant Man for three days before mom made him stop."

Takeda laughed at the recalled story, glad to have something to break up his mood.

With how protective Jacqui's father was with her, he found it hard to believe that Jax would also tease her when she probably least needed him to.

"I mean, I can tell you what it looks like, but you're not going to be happy about it."

"I could make a good guess," he offered, as he pulled back and out of her hold, before he rubbed at the tight pull of skin at the corners of his eyes again. It didn't take long before he felt Jacqui bat his hands away from his face though. He knew she had good reason to keep him from touching the healing wounds, but it still felt like the skin itched and burned in the process- and it was a very hard sensation to ignore.

Takeda moved to prop his right arm against the back cushion of the couch, before he settled his head into his palm for support- and to keep at least one hand preoccupied as he tried once more to make himself comfortable.

"It looks exactly like how my dad's scars look."

"Almost like, spot on," Jacqui confirmed, "- with the exception that your left cheek is going to scar too."

He rubbed his fingertips against the spot she mentioned, feeling where some of the skin had previously been eaten down to the bone.

"I guess it's kind of obvious how you figured that one out," she continued.

"Dad doesn't take his blindfold off often since most lights hurt his eyes, but I've seen his scars enough times to know what they look like," Takeda remarked. "And they look like how these ones feel." He paused, fighting the urge to touch at the healing wounds once more, before he continued. "It's not exactly the same method, but it's kind of odd that we both ended up with the same results."

Jacqui didn't reply, but he could feel the sense of uneasiness in her thoughts.

' _Uneasy_ ' wasn't the right word, but he couldn't think of anything more accurate.

"Also General Blade told me that we looked the same," Takeda finished.

The subtle break in the morosity was enough to garner a quiet laugh from Jacqui. "I should've figured," she mused. "Aunt Blade doesn't exactly mince words- even when she should _maybe_ consider it. Which, given how long she's known your dad for, now I understand why she gave me some tips before she let me take time off to keep an eye on you. She told me I should be glad that you're not a runaway risk."

"I could try, but I'm not going to get far."

Takeda felt the brush of Jacqui's leg against his own, before he felt the way she propped both of them in his lap. She seemed to be making herself comfortable too, as though knowing that he had already settled on this spot being his resting place for the next few hours.

"You feeling okay?"

The question might've seemed out of the left field, but he figured he wasn't exactly doing his best to pretend like he had accepted the situation. There were a lot of things going on in his head, most of which he just tried to ignore- but the worst part of it was that he _had_ plenty of time to think on it. To think on all of it, even when he didn't want to.

But with really nothing else better to do, he didn't have a choice.

"Doing better," Takeda answered, "just got a lot of things to think on."

"Like what?"

He gave a shrug, not entirely sure if he wanted to really get into it- but he felt the subtle press of her foot against his stomach in response, which told him that she wouldn't accept his shrug for an answer. "I know the whole blindness thing isn't a permanent, and honestly, just knowing _that_ alone is probably the only thing keeping me sane right now. I mean, after just a few days of dealing with it, I thought I was going to go crazy. And it's just, the longer I think about it, the more I come to accept that this is just something I'm going to have to deal with in the meantime, the harder it is to believe that this is what my dad's been dealing with for almost three decades now."

It wasn't often that he talked about Kenshi.

They had their fights, their differences, both of them seeing different sides to the same story.

Their relationship was complicated, but... they had been working on fixing it.

The more Takeda had come to understand the man- who he was and _what_ he was- the more he could understand why the past happened the way it did. It didn't excuse anything, but it gave him some sense of reasoning that he could use as a viewpoint, as an 'outside looking in' sort of thing.

"It's crazy how in a single moment, everything's just gone," Takeda continued. "One little action can change everything. At least I have days that I can count down on, you know? I have something to look forward to. But he's never had that; he just had to accept it and move on. I don't know how he hasn't gone crazy from this."

"Some people would argue that," Jacqui offered.

"Well yeah, but he's more mellow these days, so."

"I guess some things really do just boil down to a change in perspective," she followed up. "But he has Sento, doesn't he?"

"Sento doesn't give him eyesight- not in the way people think it does," Takeda corrected. "I don't know how Sento works honestly, and dad's vague in giving descriptions about it. Best I can figure is that Sento allows him to see in more of a... like an outline of energy. He can't see details or anything specific, but he can read people and 'see' what they are. But I mean, if you gave him a piece of paper, he wouldn't be able to read it."

"Not even if it had braille on it?"

"He can't read braille," he remarked. "He never learned to in the beginning and he doesn't see a point in reading it now. Plus I don't think he'd be able to read it with his gloves on, and he doesn't like to take them off because his hands get cold."

Not only was he learning important lessons from his father, mainly garnered around their shared sense of telepathy, but he was also learning about the man himself. And given his father's knack for standing out in a crowd, and seemingly being on thin ice with everyone around him, there was a lot to learn.

"Wow," Jacqui chuckled. "Then again, he works so close with Aunt Blade, he gets everything he needs to know straight from her. Regarding that thought though, I guess that just makes everything Kenshi's done up until now pretty impressive."

"I don't know how he does half the things he does now," Takeda shrugged. "He can do hand-to-hand combat with ease, he escorts General Blade anywhere she needs to go- Hell, least week he broke the Grandmaster's nose in a sparring match. Meanwhile, I ran into the same table three times yesterday."

"Didn't you say that he used to run into doors all the time when he was at home?"

"He did- being blind and being tall isn't a great combination," he nodded. "But also I left those doors opened, so I guess part of that was on me."

He could still recall watching Kenshi, the same man who was capable of using telekinetic power to pick up his opponents and fling them like trash, the same man who was capable of outmaneuvering and outsmarting Grandmaster Hanzo just enough to overpower him in one move, walk straight into an opened door with sheer confidence.

Takeda had damn near choked from laughing so hard.

"I guess I'm just starting to think that I... I never really gave him much credit for the things he's done."

Between passing out and waking up in the Special Forces hospital, Takeda didn't remember anything that would connect the two. All he knew was that when he woke up, he couldn't see- and that he was lucky the doctor got to him before the panic did. He recalled having to be physically stopped from pulling the bandages off of his face.

It was only temporary.

It would only be two months before his eyesight would come back- maybe three if there were further complications.

The acid did a lot of damage, but Jacqui had luckily managed to wash most of it out. Double luck was on his side too since the component Jacqui had used was something General Blade had given her just before their departure. The General had a lot of experience with Outworld and knew a lot about the wildlife; she knew a lot about Reptile and the type of acid that he liked to shoot.

Call it blind luck, but General Blade must've figured they would cross paths with Reptile and had advised Jacqui to carry the serum with her- just in case one of them got bit or hit by the acid shot.

It was the only thing that saved him really, given that it broke down the acid before it could continue to ravage what was left of his nerves and face.

Packing the snow against his skin to tone down the heat had also helped to slow things down, and was also credited for saving his eyesight in the long run of things.

He had stayed in the hospital for two weeks, dealing with painful facial soaks to help reduce the equally painful swelling around his eyes. The smell of the medication used was still burned in his memory, as well as the stench of the pus and fluid that would drain out of his skin every few days.

The eye drops in the hospital had mostly been there to help with the pain, although it didn't feel like they contributed much to the cause.

The ones he had now were to help encourage healing and to keep his eyes from forming the milky look to them.

The physical pain was managed well enough.

But it was really the psychological pain that continued to haunt him from time to time.

As miserable as it had been in the moment, smelling like burnt flesh, decay, and vomit, nothing could've prepared him for his father's reaction to the news.

Takeda couldn't see Kenshi's response, but he didn't have to.

He felt it- and it was almost just as painful.

General Blade had been proactive in getting to Kenshi first and catching him up on the doctor's diagnosis before she even let him into the hospital room. Which meant that the pain Takeda had felt through him wasn't his initial reaction- which meant it might've been more devastating before.

Even the Grandmaster remarked that he had never seen his father cave the way he did then.

Takeda remembered the way his father gripped his hand, firm but careful, and told him that everything was going to be okay. He could pick up the sense of reserve in the man's voice, in his overall energy, but he had been too exhausted to try and look through it.

He just squeezed his hand back, to return the reassurance that things would be okay.

They weren't, not right now anyways.

But they would be.

"Is it weird that you're staying here instead of with your dad?" Jacqui questioned, breaking him from his elongated thoughts. "I mean, he obviously knows a lot about what it's like to be blind. He could give you some pointers."

"Sure, he could, but then it's just you know, the blind leading the blind," Takeda replied.

" _Ah_ , yes, of course."

He chuckled at her admitted response. "Besides, how could I pass up on the opportunity of you being so adamant about taking care of me?"

"Shut up," she teased, as she nudged at his stomach with her foot once more. "Aunt Blade said I was the most responsible one, and she trusted me."

He made a playful motion to push her legs off of him, only to feel her reposition them so that he was scissored between them now. And given her kickboxing trophies, he knew he wasn't going to be able to escape her grasp- as loose as it was at the moment.

Takeda had no doubts that General Blade had allowed Jacqui to keep an eye on him due to her greater sense of responsibility and trustworthiness. But he also knew that Jacqui had pushed pretty hard to be allowed to due to her own guilt over the situation.

He had overheard her speaking with General Blade about what had happened and how it happened.

And he heard Jacqui tell the General that if she had been stronger in fighting off Reptile herself, he wouldn't have felt the need to assist her- and wouldn't have gotten hit with the acid in the first place.

Misguided guilt, but guilt nonetheless- no matter how General Blade tried to convince her otherwise.

No matter how many times he tried to skirt the issue himself without admitting that he had overheard the discussion.

It wasn't his battle though.

He wanted it to be- but even he had to admit that he couldn't fight them all.

"Plus, my dad said with you being blind now, he doesn't feel like he has to worry about you around me as much," Jacqui finished. "I didn't want to remind him about how your dad acts around Aunt Blade though-"

"I don't know how she puts up with his shit," Takeda laughed, as he moved a hand to run through his hair, ruffling it up some before he pushed it back. "I just... think at this point, after everything that's happened, we all just need some time away from each other to figure things out."

"Yeah?" she offered. "Because some of us are figuring out more things than others."

" _I get it_."

Jacqui used her legs to squeeze him once more, before he felt the couch shift as she scooted closer to him. Takeda offered his forearm, which she used as leverage to pull herself in closer- until it felt like she was almost in his lap. He felt the cushion under his elbow shift as she tucked her arm against it too, seemingly mimicking his position.

"You know, if you want to, we could figure some more things out on our own."

"Yeah?" he questioned. "I don't know, the whole shower thing was pretty awkward enough."

"Okay well, that's not exactly what I was thinking of, but that part also doesn't matter because that had to happen," Jacqui replied, seemingly laughing to herself at the memory.

"I'm glad you found so much amusement in it."

Takeda felt her hands on his face once more, cupping it again, before he felt the warmth of her breath as she leaned into him- and then felt the equally warm press of her lips against his own.

" _Oh-_ "

Jacqui held him to her while he moved a hand to loosely touch against her shoulder once more- which might've been an awkward placement, but he wanted something to use as a place-marker for him. Also he wasn't quite confident that he could get his hand to the back of her neck without hitting something else along the way. Like he had before.

It was still something to get used to.

All he had was his sense of touch to guide him, and when she kissed him like this, she was the only thing he felt; she became like his whole world, his whole focus.

He felt her pull away and found himself wanting to go with her- only to have her pull him back in anyways.

This time though, he felt her hands move to his hair just long enough for her fingers to tangle in the loose locks, before she slipped one arm behind his neck, anchoring him to her now. It was a comforting embrace, one he fell into immediately as she provided the full sense of support he felt he needed. Her remaining hand eventually dropped to his chest, her fingers teasing the scooped neckline of his shirt.

"Wait, is _this_ what you were referring to earlier?" Takeda interrupted.

"Yeah," she answered- and no one could fault her for her brute honestly. "I mean, if you don't want to, that's fine- I figured I could at least shoot my shot on it though."

"Well, you certainly... did not fail to impress on that part," he remarked, unable to fight the heat that rushed to his face again. "Is that- is that really something you want to do?"

"I mean, it's really your answer that makes that decision," Jacqui reminded, as she moved to drape both of her arms over his shoulders now.

Takeda could feel his heart almost racing now at the thought.

Sure, they had fooled around before, before the whole acid-in-the-eyes trick anyways, but they were still in the stage of trying to figure everything out. They were still trying to figure out what worked for both of them, what they liked, what they didn't like- although the greater struggle had always been scheduling, since they both worked at different places at different hours.

With the both of them having the community house to themselves for the most part, with Cassie and Kung Jin both dealing with familial issues in the background, they seemed to have been offered the opportunity of doing it whenever they wanted to.

But the whole blind thing was a bit of drawback.

"You don't have to give me an answer right now," Jacqui replied. "I just thought I'd throw it out there and let you think on it a bit."

"I mean, I'm not saying no to it," Takeda started. "I just uh, I don't know, I fumble enough with my eyesight, so..."

"We'll figure it out," she assured.

He hated to admit that it was... tempting.

Well, he didn't hate it, he was just concerned- maybe self-conscious about the act.

"It wouldn't hurt to try," he finally admitted. "Just like, if something happens, please don't hold it over my head."

"Don't worry, I'm not like Aunt Blade- I'm not going to harass a blind man."

"Ha _ha_."


	2. Chapter 2

Takeda felt Jacqui pull him into another kiss, and despite her subtle take on mocking him, he returned the gesture- and felt the warm weight of her hands against his chest once more. It was the small things, the gingerly touches that kept him focused and allowed him to conjure an image of what they might've looked like in the moment. He found himself focusing on memories, keeping her face in focus, and reminding him of what would inevitably await him when the darkness was over.

"You know- ," Jacqui started, and already he could pick up on the teasing in her voice once more, "we could do it on the couch if you're feeling adventurous."

"What?! No, we're not doing that- what if someone walks in?" he questioned, probably a million scenarios going through his head at the thought alone. While they were always safe with their timing and the places they hooked up at, Jacqui had once convinced him into a supply closet on the SF base- and he spent the entire time terrified that either General Blade or, Elder Gods _forbid_ , her father would walk in on them.

Or his father for that matter, although that scenario would be the least traumatizing of the three. Then again, Takeda was pretty certain his father would know exactly what was going on without having to step into the room to find out- and that alone was pretty embarrassing to think on.

On the plus side, it was probably the longest either of them had ever lasted, but it wasn't much of a feat on his end considering the stamina was more coerced out of fear.

Not to mention, this was a communal house, and while everyone was basically lying low trying to let things go by, there was literally nothing stopping anyone from walking through the front door.

"I mean, what if Cassie walks in?" Takeda continued. "She's already walked in on us twice- and the second time she asked if she could join."

"That was a joke."

"She was taking her shirt off when she said it."

Jacqui laughed, as though remembering the ordeal in a far different light than he did. "She is very committed to her jokes- you've seen who her father is," she reminded, lightly rubbing at his chest with the words. "She was just trying to get a rise out of the situation, that's all. Believe me, I grew up with her; I know all the inner workings of her mind."

Takeda had absolute no doubt about that.

There were times where he couldn't understand a word between the two of them, and yet they would crack up out of nowhere and explain nothing.

"So if we had said yes, she would've joined?" he queried.

"You're really going to ask me that?"

"You said you knew the inner workings of her mind, I was just curious," Takeda teased, feeling the way her hands had stopped now- and it took a few seconds before they slowly resumed with the repeating circles against his chest. "But based on your response, I take the answer as a yes."

"Well yeah, we both know she would," Jacqui remarked- although he had yet to settle on that answer, "- and if that's something we want to explore in the future-"

"It's _not_!" he quickly interrupted. "In fact, I don't even want to think about it. Let's just... not go down that rabbit hole."

She seemed to be amused enough with his response as she moved a hand to his cheek and pulled him into another kiss. He could feel the press of a grin against his lips and knew that she had enjoyed turning the conversation around on him. Maybe a little on the broadside, but he also knew that she was trying to keep his mind off of things; they both were.

And if they could do so by irritatingly teasing each other, than so be it.

"I mean, what if Kung Jin walked in and wanted to join?" Jacqui asked.

"Sure, I guess- we'd have to kick you out though," Takeda shrugged, before laughing as she playfully punched his shoulder in response. "Can we please stop talking about this now? I'm starting to get some mixed signals and I don't know what to do with them- and I'm confused enough as it is."

"It's a discussion for another day then," she mused, as she moved both hands to cup his face, gently shaking his head in her hold. "But for _now_ , we have more important matters at hand."

"Is that right?" he started, as he felt her pull him into one more kiss before she carefully began to untangle herself from him. It took some maneuvering from the both of them before she was able to get to her feet, shifting the couch once more- this time in the absence of her weight. Her hands moved to take his before she tugged him along with her, and hoisted him up just the same.

Jacqui pulled him along behind her.

And Takeda made sure to count her steps and keep up as best he could, which was difficult with the growing nervousness that seemed to have numbed his legs.

He felt the flooring under his feet change from hardwood to tile to carpet.

And the subtle drop in temperature let him know that they were back in his room again.

He had figured out the layout of his room pretty well enough on his own, so he didn't need much guidance to work his way across it. Not to mention, he wasn't one for material things so there wasn't much to furnish the room to begin with; which was a blessing to have now, given how much furniture he had ran into before in the rest of the house.

A hand reached out and Takeda felt his fingertips touch the cool bedspread and followed it just enough until Jacqui stopped. He knew the routine, at least when it was just him on a daily basis, but he felt the way she pulled him in, kissing him again, before her hands helped to ease him through the motions of getting on the bed. Although halfway through she seemed to take the liberty in helping to quicken the pace as well, only to then climb on top of him.

It was a mess of senses as she pulled him in, kissing him firm as her fingers curled against his jaw; kissing him hard enough that his lips parted at the contact, allowing her easy access. There were muffled moans and caught breaths between them. Hot air and stammered inhales taken between short breaks, just enough to keep them going. He could feel the weight of her lips, the taste of her tongue, the holding grip her fingers bore into his jaw. His own hands gripped at her shoulders, just desperate to have that anchoring point again, something to keep him from getting completely lost in the sensations and emotions.

Takeda couldn't recall a time before where Jacqui had kissed him with such ferocity, leaving behind an ache in his jaw and lips when she pulled away. There was this mix of being both relieved and disappointed in the release- and near desperate for when she would come back.

And she did, but this time he felt the intensity settle into the curve of his neck- and he felt himself almost tense up at the touch.

It was definitely an _odd_ feeling.

Sure, Jacqui had kissed his neck plenty of times before- if anything it seemed like one of her favorite places- but this time, it certainly felt different. Despite everything beforehand, even just a few seconds prior, this was what dawned the realization of just how much he relied on his eyes to know what was going on- or even just how to proceed with things.

He could feel her hands against his chest once more, felt the way they ran down and over his ribs, gently squeezing at them. He felt her fingers curl in once again, this time bundling his shirt between each one, before she tugged at it- slowly pulling it up along his abdomen.

Takeda felt the weight of her settling on his waist now, felt the settling of the mattress underneath them.

He couldn't see her, but he could feel her eyes on him.

It resonated with that feeling where you knew someone was looking at you, but you couldn't pinpoint who- like you were just looking out into a crowd with the hopes of catching eyes with someone. But in this case, it just wasn't going to happen, not for awhile anyways.

Takeda could feel the nerves in his hands as he slowly moved them to Jacqui's thighs, fumbling some as he did so. It felt like he was just looking for leverage, looking for a point of reference to grasp on to. Sure, he knew Jacqui was on top of him, but in the moment, in the haze of sensations, he was having a hard time visualizing it.

"You okay?" Jacqui questioned, pulling away now, leaving behind a pool of heat trapped against his neck.

"Uh, loaded question?" Takeda offered, hesitantly at that. "I mean, kind of? I don't know, it's just- it's a little overwhelming right now and we haven't even done anything yet."

"You want to keep going?"

"Yeah- _yeah_ , just give me some time to catch up. It's just taking a lot longer to process things now."

There was a quiet, amused chuckle before Takeda felt her lean down and felt the heat of her lips against his own once more.

"If you need me to stop, just let me know," she whispered, "- but until then, just let me take things by the horns, alright?"

"Please, by all means."

She kissed him again, and once more Takeda felt the warmth of her tongue as it parted his lips and filled his mouth. He felt the curl of her fingers as she cupped his face, holding his head in her hands as she anchored him to her. It was different this time, more subtle, more comforting than the desperation there was earlier. Takeda let his hands travel a bit, more comfortable in the moment as he moved them from her thighs up to her waist now- feeling the thin separation of where her jeans met her shirt.

He slid one hand up along the curve of her back, feeling the way her shirt was pulled up along with it.

Her skin was ridiculously warm against his own.

"I know what will clear you up," Jacqui remarked, seemingly announcing it as she pulled away.

"Yeah? What's that?"

" _Hm_ , why don't you read my mind and find out?" she teased.

Good proposition.

One issue.

"I uh- I can't," Takeda started, laughing at himself with the words, "- I am way too worked up to focus on telepathy right now. And I'm not very good with it to begin with anyways, so-" he ended his sentence with a shrug.

"Wow, couldn't even try," Jacqui mused, "I get it though. It just makes it more of a surprise then."

He felt her hands plant themselves against his stomach before she used him as leverage to scoot herself back- lifting the weight off of his waist as she did so. Once settled again, she moved to bundle his shirt up, this time pushing it over his ribs and leaving his abdomen bare in the aftermath. He felt the way she leaned into him again, her body almost flat against his own now as her lips touched at his neck once again, before she moved to the subtle dip at the base of his throat, and then down to his chest.

It felt even weirder this time- not necessarily in a bad way though.

More in that, he didn't realize just how good the contact felt; he didn't realize how receptive his skin was until it was the only marker he had to follow her with.

Warm palms skirted over his ribs as she moved down with them, kissing a subtle trail down the streamline middle of his body.

Jacqui shifted about on top of him as she carefully un-straddled herself from his waist, and fitted herself more comfortably between his legs- which she partly had to nudge out of the way. Takeda could feel the mattress moving around with her careful movements and tried to follow whatever it was that she was doing.

As her mouth settled on the dip of his ribs, he felt the skirting motion of fingertips as they brushed down his abdomen, creating an almost ticklish sensation against his sensitive skin. Fingers drifted down to the front of his jeans and he heard himself groan as he felt her hand press against him; she made a few teasing grabs, just enough to make his head feel like it was swimming.

It was enough to distract him, enough to keep his focus until he felt the way she tugged his jeans open and pulled them down against his waist- completely oblivious to how she had managed to get them open with one hand.

Takeda felt a rush of heat to his face as Jacqui's fingers moved to wrap around his cock the moment it sprung free from his jeans. He felt the way his breath hitched in his throat as her fingers worked him over- feeling the subtle floating sensation of her touch as she kept it loose. It was just enough to grab his attention and keep it, centering his focus around the dull ache of wound up tension under her fingertips.

Between the heat of her breath on his stomach, the weight of her settled between his thighs, and her fingers stroking him over, all he had to focus on was her.

Her mouth moved along the curve of his lower abdomen as her other hand worked to tug down on the waistband of his jeans- just enough to give herself some more space.

He groaned softly as the muscles of his abdomen twitched in response, tightening some just before Jacqui pressed her lips against the base of his cock. There was almost a quiet squeak that escaped his throat at the heat of her mouth against him, as her fingers moved to wrap around the tip- curving it just enough to the left to let her press a little more forcefully against him.

Just enough to finally seal the picture here.

"I- I thought you were going to help clear my head, not make things more confusing," Takeda remarked, trying not to let his voice sound as shaken as he felt- and failing terribly at it.

"I never specified which one," Jacqui teased.

Point made.

"You think you can handle it?"

It was really hard to concentrate on the given question when he could feel her warm lips climbing along his cock- taking their easy time with a teasing kiss every now and then. Her fingers rubbing small circles against the tip didn't help his concentration any either.

There was no response to give once she let her tongue replace her rubbing fingers and took him between her lips.

The hard gasp he gave in response almost hurt, piercing his throat with a sharp inhale.

Takeda felt the warmth of her mouth immediately take over and felt a surge of heat spear through his entire body. She was a careful and slow in her motions, easing him into the act- but also teasing him with it every step of the way. Her fingers moved to wrap around the base of his cock now, holding him steady as she took the reigns.

As much as he tried not to focus too much on what she was doing, to avoid an embarrassing premature act, it was still all he _could_ focus on.

The sensation of her soft lips against him, the warmth of her mouth, the occasional stroking motion from her tongue-

It didn't help that her free hand had taken to gently rubbing his right thigh, moving up and down in short, squeezing motions- a gesture he had found to be all too comforting even in an entirely innocent context.

It felt like his head was in a fog with the occasional tug of trying to remain alert.

Takeda found himself sinking into the sensations.

He also found himself partly biting into a curled fist to keep from making too much noise. Not that he ever really did, but even with the house empty and with them having it to themselves, he wasn't comfortable with making a scene.

But she was making it difficult not to.

Jacqui kept it nice and slow for him, allowing him to focus on every motion, allowing him to soak up every sensation that he could. He got caught up in the slow way she moved against him- steady and consistent every time she slid him between her lips. She moved her hand in conjunction with each bob, letting her fingers stroke where her mouth couldn't reach.

But it was her own moaning, the way they deepened every time she took him in that did it.

That was where he felt the occasional twitch, the painful tugging of strings pulling in his thighs.

"Jacqui-"

He moaned her name softly, partly muffled behind his knuckles, while his other hand clutched at the bed sheets underneath him. He could feel that nervous twitch getting tighter in his body; he felt the restlessness in his legs as he squirmed underneath her hold, underneath her touch and influence. His hips pressed against her, writhing gently beneath her- only to be met with a firm push and a weighted hand.

_"Easy, boy."_

That much he was able to pick up between scattered thoughts.

It was getting harder to ignore the almost suffocating heat that flooded his senses, almost giving off a sensation of his head being underwater. It felt like he had limited control over his motions, unable to pull his focus away from her enough to completely understand how to regain it back. He could hear his heart pounding in his chest, almost feeling it against his ribs as he tried to stagger his breathing- catching it stammered between moans and his own knuckles.

Fingers barely managed to pull away from the crumbled sheets before he staggered them to her hand resting against his hips. He curled them against the back of her hand, feeling the way she made quick to respond; with more control, with a firmer grip, she tied his fingers with her own.

There was the sensation of her fingers squeezing his cock once more, giving way to the last thread of his resistance.

An muffled groan escaped him as Takeda felt himself finally give in, partly pinning Jacqui between his thighs now as he felt the rush of heat spear through his body with the climax- rushing and flooding his senses all over again.

It felt like it hit harder this time, with his senses still half-blinded in the aftermath of the finish.

He pulled his hand away and instinctively flexed his fingers, feeling the almost painful, numbing sensation that had settled into each one.

Jacqui pulled away, leaving behind a wet mess in her wake, before she kissed at his bare abdomen once more- which was more sensitive now, causing him to squirm under her touch again. Which didn't go unnoticed as she slowly dragged herself back up along his body, kissing him at intervals that she set, seemingly targeting every sensitive spot that she knew about.

Eventually, she settled back on his lips.

Hands in that painful-tingling state now moved to cradle her head as Takeda pulled her in, kissing her as hard as he could with staggered breath between them. Her mouth felt hotter now, and the air between them was more stifling that relieving. But he heard that deep moan from her throat and wanted to seek it out. Hands clambered against aching jaws as they staggered air between them- kissing for too long, kissing each other too hard before they pulled away.

"How was that for a start?" Jacqui teased.

"Better than us on the couch," Takeda replied, much to her amusement it seemed; he pulled her into another kiss, unable to shake the wanted sensation. "Let me return the favor."

"As much as I'd love to- and you know I do- I don't want to explain to General Blade why your eyes might have an infection in them," she mused. "But I'll gladly take up on that offer the moment you got a clean bill of health."

He certainly didn't think of that.

But given the positioning, there probably was a chance he'd aggravate the already sensitive nature of his eyes- and they really didn't need General Blade to know the cause of it.

"Might be awhile," he reminded.

"Don't worry, I'll keep score."

Takeda chuckled at the remark, knowing well there was a fifty-fifty chance she actually would keep track. He reached his hands up to tangle in her shirt once more, slowly pulling it away from her body. "Let me see how much of this I can do from muscle memory," he started, "- and _don't_ help me with it, unless I'm going to hit you in the eye or something."

"Who am I to stop you?" Jacqui replied, as he felt the weight of her hands against the pillow beneath him. "Go for it."

Working the feeling back into his hands, Takeda slowly worked to pull up on her shirt, getting it over her ribs with some ease before he bundled it against her shoulders. As an early assistance, he felt her at least help to pull it over her shoulders and head- before she seemingly tossed it aside; he heard the quiet crumple of it hitting the floor.

He brought his hands to her shoulders, feeling the firmness of them against his palms, before he slowly rolled his fingers down along her sternum- carefully allowing himself explore her breasts. There was some surprise to find that she was wearing a normal bra for once, rather than the sports bras she normally donned under her uniform. Fingertips followed down the cups, searching down to where he hoped it clipped in the front- which it did.

Muscle memory was all he needed to unclip it, for once without Jacqui's assistance, before he slowly peeled it off of her- this time letting himself blindly toss it away.

He touched lightly at her naked breasts, feeling the weight and warmth of them in his palms as he cupped them in his hands. He heard her groan softly at the touch before she moved her hands to cover his own, sitting back on her knees now to support the position; she interlaced their fingers before she used his hands to squeeze her breasts.

"You can be rough with them," Jacqui assured.

"I just want to take my time," he replied.

Adjusting their collective hold, Takeda used his thumbs to brush across her nipples, feeling the soft, plump form of them underneath his touch; he couldn't see them, but he had memorized their dark color and the clash of them against his hands. He rolled them around in his grasp between each groping squeeze of her breasts, feeling the way she pushed her chest into each motion- hearing the quiet exhale she gave with every other stroke.

He squeezed her breasts once more before he pushed his hands forward, just enough to catch her nipples in his grasp- pinching them between his fingers now.

" _Ooh_ -" she gasped, heavy on the exhale this time.

"Yeah? I didn't know you liked that," Takeda teased.

"It depends- are you going to keep doing it, or are you just teasing me with it?"

"I might come back to it," he offered, as he dropped his hands down to her ribs- laughing as he heard the audible raspberry she blew at him.

He let his fingers cradle her ribs for a moment, trying to gain his own sense of direction, before he slowly moved his hands down to her abdomen. Using just his fingertips, he let himself map out and explore the thickness of her stomach, feeling the different shapes and concave of muscles that seemingly flexed underneath his touch. He could feel the firmness of her skin as he pressed his palms against her stomach- just barely feeling the way she squirmed at the touch.

"You've got some great abs," Takeda remarked, unable to stop himself from the compliment.

"Thanks, I've been trying to put more work into my stomach- mostly so that I can take a cheap shot if one gets thrown my way," Jacqui replied, eagerly flexing the muscles underneath his palm- allowing him to feel the tension of their pull.

"It's working," he noted, loosely sliding his hands down to her waist and thighs now. "You got great thighs too- you could probably crush something with them."

"You mean something other than your head?" she mused. "I've been thinking about trying the watermelon crush since Aunt Blade can do it, but I haven't gotten around to trying it yet- not sure if I can handle it just yet either." She gave a pause before he heard her chuckle lightly and felt her fingers running through his hair now, gently pushing it back away from his face. "You know, for someone trying to set the mood, you're really sort of... elongating it here."

Takeda had gotten that same feeling before.

"It just... it feels like I can sense more, like I'm picking up things I haven't noticed before," he spoke, attempting to explain his train of thought, and hoping it would eventually make sense to the both of them. "I know it's kind of tedious, but it just feels like I'm learning about new things."

"It's not a bad thing."

"No, but I guess I am kind of dragging things out."

"Hey, I said we would take it slow," Jacqui assured, as her fingers moved to cup his jaw. Her thumb reached out to gently trace circles against one cheek, which was a gesture he took too much comfort in. "We'll get to the end when we get there, but until then I'm enjoying the ride- and I want to make sure you're enjoying it too."

For once, they really didn't have a time limit for this kind of intimacy. It wouldn't hurt to take things slow, to spare no expense in taking advantage of the moment that they had. And given that this was the first time they had done this since the whole acid-in-the-eyes scenario, he really needed the extra time between things to keep himself from getting a sensory overload.

"Plus, you're not immediately getting off at the sight of my tits."

"Hey-" Takeda started, only to hear her cut him off as she started laughing. "I mean, it's a _fair_ point."

"I speak only the truth," she teased, before she moved to dismount him once more. "Let's get out of these clothes though, while we're ahead of the game."

He felt the mattress shift as Jacqui seemingly threw herself into the empty space next to him. He could hear her working off her belt, before she shook the mattress as she shimmed out of her jeans.

Takeda moved his hands to his own jeans and finished pulling them off, before he tossed them off the bed. He sat up just enough to pull his shirt off as well, feeling the cool air on his skin now; the sudden moving around like this brought out the realization of just how sweaty his skin already was. One hand ran through his hair, pushing it away from his face again, before he tugged lightly at his blindfold - trying to ignore the itching sensation that had once again reared its ugly head.

"Ah-ah," Jacqui started, one hand quick to grab him by the wrist. "Am I going to have to tie you down to get you to stop touching your eyes?"

"I didn't touch them," Takeda replied, "- and they're _my_ eyes anyways. And don't put that imagery in my head."

"You can take the blindfold off if it's bothering you," she offered.

"Nah, because then it'll just bother you."

"I think I can handle it," Jacqui assured.

She would say that now, sure- but Takeda was pretty certain it would be a different story once the raw scarring became visible. And given just how bad it felt under his fingertips, despite what had been said before, it was probably worse than what people were telling him. They could probably be handled in any other situation, but just not this one.

Maybe it was his delayed response, but Takeda felt the way Jacqui touched his shoulder and gently coaxed him down to her.

And he went willingly.

Sliding down next to her, he felt the way she partly pulled him on top and pulled him into another kiss. Takeda could feel the heat of the skin between them; he felt the warmth of hers pressed against his own- and as uncomfortable as it felt with the sweat and added heat, it was comforting just the same. His arms found their way around her slender form, with one arm slipping underneath her ribs as he pulled her in against him.

He focused on the heat of her skin, on the press of her breasts against his chest, on the subtle way she tucked one leg against his thigh.

Takeda felt the way she wrapped her arms around him just the same, felt the pressing roll of her palms traveling across his back; he felt the subtle digging of her fingertips between his shoulders, before her hands moved to lay flat against shoulders, before he felt her fingers as they curled in and held onto him.

He kissed her, and felt the warmth and taste of her mouth all over again.

And when she let him go, he pushed himself into the curve of her neck- feeling the way she pulled him in now, holding him as he took in the scent of her skin. He felt her pulse underneath his lips, tasted her as he tucked his head against the nape of her neck, feeling now the way her chest dropped with a quiet exhale. He wanted to do more than kiss her skin; he wanted to bite it, to suckle it, do anything that he could with only his lips and mouth- but he knew better than to leave behind a mark.

After so many weeks, they couldn't keep passing off hickeys as bruises from the war.

Takeda curled his hands against the dip of her back as he tugged her in closer, pressing her hips in against his own now.

And he felt the way she shivered in his grasp.

" _Oh_ -" Jacqui whispered, and somehow Takeda swore he could hear the grin in her tone, "that quick for a round two, huh?"

He snorted out a laugh as he pulled away, knowing full and well that drawing her hips in would bring attention to how quickly he had recovered from earlier. "Look, it has a mind of its own sometimes," he remarked.

"Yeah, and it's certainly in the right spot for it," she teased, as she shifted her leg higher against his thigh and used her ankle to nudge his hips against her opened thighs. "Are you ready now, or do you want to keep going?"

Another slightly loaded question.

"I uh, I want to keep going," Takeda replied, "- our scores won't be even at this rate."

"It's not about the scores," she chuckled, as she slipped one hand free to rest it against his cheek once again. " _But_ if you're that set on it, I do have an idea for how you could level the playing field."

"By all means."

Takeda felt the way Jacqui unraveled herself from him before she shifted about until she had cradled herself in next to him. The moment he felt the back of her hips against his, and felt her hook one leg over his hip, he knew what she was getting at- and adjusted himself to better fit the position as well. Which was a little harder to do blind than he thought it'd be. He leaned back a little more than normal, settling half on his side and half on his back, giving her the room she needed to properly situate herself against him.

She slipped an arm underneath his head, which he then settled against her shoulder.

There was one last teasing press of her hips before she nestled her forehead to his.

He kept one arm underneath her, tucking it against her ribs as he pulled her in close.

"Think you can find your way?" Jacqui questioned.

"Pretty sure I can handle it."

He moved his free hand to brush against her abdomen once more, before he slowly trailed the pads of his fingers down along an imaginary seam-line, eventually following the downward curve of her lower stomach. He pushed his fingers through the curled hair of her mound, before he guided them down between her legs. It was hard to deny the sense of heat against his fingers as he felt Jacqui squirm in anticipation under the subtle touch, where he just barely made any contact.

Slowly and loosely, Takeda ran his fingertips along the parted lips of her outer labia, gently teasing the inner ones that peeked out. Barely catching them with his fingers, he rubbed the sensitive folds and felt the way Jacqui withered in the gentle grasp. It was still a learning experience on his end as he tried to follow her responses and keep to them. Letting his fingers push between her inner folds, parting them with the motion, he felt the wet heat that greeted him. He let his fingers explore, feeling the thick arousal that coated them, making each motion slick against her wet skin.

Takeda heard her moan in her throat, felt her fingers move to run through his hair as he took his time in memorizing her; he let his wet fingers follow against her outer lips once more, feeling the way slick way he touched over her- feeling his fingertips rub and stroke over every inch that he could. He let his fingers rub against her clit in a broad circle and felt the way she jerked her hips in response; he felt the way her arm partly locked against his head as well as she involuntarily pulled him in.

There was a subtle groan from his own chest as the feeling of her rolling her hips against him, pressing herself against his hand made the throbbing in his loins more and more pronounced now. He was having to fight the urge to thrust into her, to feel that wet heat for himself.

Pushing between her inner folds once more, he coated his fingers with her before he slowly pressed one of them inside of her. And almost immediately, Takeda heard Jacqui hiss in response and felt her hips push up against him; he felt the way they pushed back against his own, rubbing against his cock in the process. There was a partial whine that escaped him at the sudden contact.

He moved carefully at first, thrusting shallowly- although it seemed useless given how aroused she was, and given the way she kept pressing him for more. He barely made a few thrusts before he introduced a second digit, hearing her groan as he slowly sank both of them inside of her.

"F-fuck-" Jacqui stammered, squeezing her arm and pulling him in closer to her again.

It was slow and steady at first, as he wanted to work her up carefully and have time to find his own rhythm- which didn't take long to settle on, given the cues she gave him.

Slowly, Takeda moved the flat of his thumb to her swollen clit and felt her whole body jerk in response, before he worked slow circles over it- working himself between the bucking of her hips. It took some focus before he had the subtle thrusting of his fingers working in time with the circular motions of his thumb- although the continued rocking from her hips kept offsetting him. Eventually, Jacqui slowed herself to work with him, eagerly taking him with each thrust.

Every time she moaned and rocked in time with his movements, working her hips against his fingers and rubbing herself back against him, it was building confidence that he knew what he was doing.

When she pulled him in and pressed him against her lips, he could feel the heat of her breath and mouth against him. He could feel her lips vibrate with each moan, and felt them part with the occasional hard pant.

He felt the way she dug her heel into his thigh, creating leverage as she kept moving herself with him.

Once more, it felt like the heat between them was almost suffocating, stifling the air between them.

"Don't stop, don't stop-"

There were rushed, stammered words between them now.

Takeda tried not to focus on what he was doing, knowing that if he did, he'd end up losing his composure- and more than likely, ruining the moment for her. Instead, he tried to focus on the way she breathed, on the growing heat of her skin against his, on the mess between his fingers-

He heard her gasp and felt the way her body seemed to lock up for a moment before he felt how her body tightened around his fingers. The digging of her heel against his thigh was almost painful now as it shook in time with her lower body- heavy, consistent shaking that seemed to move up along her spine. Again, he tried to stay focused- even when the rocking of her against him begged for his attention instead.

He lost track of just how long she lasted, but eventually he felt the way she fell in against him; her heel slipping down to rest behind him instead now. He could feel her hot breath on his face, and felt the aching in his jaw from their sputtered embraces in between.

"Jesus-"

Even he found himself breathing a little harder in the aftermath, stammered against her lips.

It seemed like minutes drifted between them, as they each tried to calm themselves.

"Okay," Jacqui finally spoke, breaking the silence of bated breaths, "we're good; we're even now."

He found himself laughing in response as he tucked his head into her neck once more. "That's all I ask for."

She rolled in against him, moving her free hand to tangle in his hair as she tucked her head into it. He took the moment as it was and slowly pulled his fingers free, feeling the way she squirmed slightly at the sensitivity now. He draped his arm around her abdomen and held onto her, taking in the sweat against her skin and the erratic tempo in her pulse.

For a few more moments, they remained like that- dealing with the heat and wet skin.

He felt her hand move to push his hair aside once more, before he felt her hot lips press a kiss to his forehead.

"Alright, now that we have that out of the way," she started, "let's finally get to business."

"That impatient?" he teased, feeling the way she pulled away for a moment.

"We don't get this opportunity often," she replied.

"We always use that excuse," Takeda reminded, as he felt her fingers touch his thigh before they moved to brush against his cock. And his mind was flooded with the imagery of her having to reach between her legs to get to him. He shivered in response, feeling that knot of heat still present in his loin. He tightened his arm against her, pulling her back in.

"Yeah, and are we wrong?"

"... No."

"See?" Jacqui teased, as she wrapped her fingers around him, before she pulled his cock between her legs- still warm and wet. "You got a preference, or are we good in this position? Because if not, you gotta let me know _now_."

"We're good, we're good," he assured, feeling what might've been nervousness in his chest now, "let's just go."

Takeda pulled her in, feeling the way her fingers stroked the length of his cock as Jacqui pushed the tip of it between her folds. He could feel his heart racing as she teased him with the motion, as she rocked her hips against him, rubbing herself against the curve of his cock- letting him feel the wet heat that had spilled between her thighs. His senses almost buzzed out, as the nerves in his hands almost went into that painful tingling sensation again.

Reaching down, he covered her hand with his own, not caring but knowing well she could feel it shaking despite his best efforts.

In nervous unison, they aligned him with her before they slowly eased his cock inside of her.

Almost instantly, they both moaned in sync at the subtle breach.

"Oh fuck," Jacqui whispered, as she kept her fingers wrapped around him, guiding him ever so slowly to savor the moment.

And the wet heat that slowly encompassed him felt like an entirely new sensation.

He found himself riding the moment along with her, savoring the easy way her body took him in. Savoring the way she seemingly melted against him, heavy in his arms now as she pushed her hips down against his lifting ones- meeting him in the middle as she took him in full.

It felt like there was a delay between his mind wanting to move and his body being able to move. It felt like it took every bit of strength for him to coax the arm underneath her to move against her ribs; it took extra steps for his hand to cup against her breast as he pulled and held her in against him.

Takeda groaned softly at the subtle movements between them, before he buried his head into the curve of her neck and breathed her in. It felt like every nerve and sense in his body responded only to her, and it responded to the smallest of movements, the smallest of gestures. He was pretty certain he was whispering the same curse she had given before, but it was hard to tell if he was actually saying it out loud, or if it was only just repeating itself in his head.

He felt Jacqui's hand at the back of his neck now before she pushed her fingers through his hair, eventually gripping a small handful of it as she tucked her head against his own.

He tried to keep himself level-headed, taking the momentary stillness to get himself situated and pull himself together.

It didn't take long before Jacqui made the first move, using the heel planted once more against his thigh as leverage to work herself against his cock. And it felt like he was taken over by that same rush of heat again. She rocked herself with careful ease, moving against him, taking him in and out in small intervals to get used to the movements.

And he waited for her to work herself up first before he started to move with her.

Slow at first so they could both work out a rhythm between them; it was one that she easily set and one that he quickly followed.

Takeda could feel the slow rolling of her hips as they pushed back against his own.

He slowly moved his hand from between their legs and moved it to tuck underneath the leg she had propped against his thigh. His hand brushed against her calf before he followed it up to her thigh and hooked his arm underneath it, before he slowly pulled it further behind him. The motion helped to spread her open against him as they both rolled back with the subtle motion, giving him a little more room to move with- while also providing him with some leverage as well.

There was a soft moan that Takeda practically felt in her throat at the shift in positioning, which gave easier access to her fingers as they continued to stroke the base of his cock between each rolling thrust.

Kissing the curve of her neck, Takeda pulled her in closer as he squeezed the breast in his hand- eventually moving his fingers to play with her nipple.

"Ooh, that's the good stuff," Jacqui teased, gently rubbing at his scalp each time she ran her fingers through his hair.

And there was something about her fingers slowly raking through his hair, rubbing and scratching at his scalp each time they passed through. It was the way she circled her fingers each time she did it, slowly repeating the gesture again and again until it was almost a comforting lull.

"That's pretty good too," Takeda whispered.

He felt Jacqui's fingers run through his hair a few more times, pampering him with the gesture, before they moved to tuck themselves underneath his jaw. Pulling his head back, Takeda felt her pull him in again and felt the warmth of her lips and mouth against his own. And he held onto the slow, open kiss, moaning softly between them as he felt the coordinated rocking between them- feeling the rolling motion of her hips moving down to greet his own each time.

Moments like these were somewhat rare between them, not so much now and days, but they were still gracious to take- and they were more than eager to enjoy them.

For once, it just felt nice that they didn't have to plan ahead of time, that they didn't have to compare schedules and set up meeting points when they were both available and no longer needed anywhere else.

As unrealistic as it was, he could see himself wanting to spend the rest of the day like this- and even more unrealistic, the rest of the week, the rest of his healing months just here with her.

Takeda felt Jacqui's lips brush against his forehead now just before he felt the way she shifted her non-propped leg to adjust her hips; once more, it provided a better angle, as well as a little more force with each of her downward thrusts.

There was a shift in rhythm, a little more tightness in her hands as she held on to him.

And he would be deceiving himself if he tried to ignore the inevitable tightness that was building in his stomach once more; already it was billowing on the verge of being painful, already on the cusp of releasing early.

Squeezing her thigh, Takeda released it from his hold before he moved his fingers to her clit once again, rolling it under the pads of his fingers. It took him a moment or two to work it successfully into the rhythm of her hips- and given the way they seemed to buck underneath his hand, it was harder to keep up with. But once he did, once he got into anticipating the jerking of her hips, there was the reward in hearing the heavy rumbling in her throat again, in feeling the pressing curl of her fingers as they bore through his hair again.

Of course, Jacqui wasn't one to be outdone- and she wasn't one to uneven their score either.

Takeda felt her fingers wrap themselves around his cock, this time giving the occasional squeeze in between each thrust.

They really weren't helping each other in trying to make the moment last.

When he felt his hips erratically jerk, messily countering her rocking, he knew he was close- and the quiet squeak that escaped from his throat gave him away.

But he felt Jacqui roll down against him, hard and quick as she planted herself against his hips, before he immediately felt the way her body tightened around him. And that was enough to break down the last of his own resistance.

Everything came through as a blur as he remembered squeezing his arm tight across her ribs. Takeda felt her fingers force his hand in against her neck, holding him there as their entangled legs collided amongst the unforgiving shaking. Her leg propped over his own seemed to kick at him, as though she was desperate to close her legs, closing herself against him, but was unable to with his thigh in the way. And even if he wouldn't be able to see them, he was certain that there would be bruises there by tonight.

His fingers continued to circle against her clit, although he couldn't contest that his motions were at all consistent- but given the way Jacqui still bucked against his hand, he figured he was close enough.

It wasn't often that they came together in sync, but the experience was always a mess of hands gripping tight, trying to find something stationary enough to hold on to.

He remembered heated skin, the smell of sweat and other fluids.

The heat of previous embraces still warm on her neck; the bruising press of her lips against his own.

The experience was seconds at best, but the lingering aftermath seemed to go on for minutes as they laid there- strewn about in a mess of their own making.

It felt like he didn't have the strength to pull away from her, as tired hands still clung to her body.

And it didn't take long before he felt her collapse in against him, a few hard exhales heavy on her lips.

"That was... something else," Jacqui started, panting between her words as she let her head drop back against the pillow behind them. Her fingers had moved to cradle his head, holding him in against her still- although looser now, and less like a death grip. "I might want a second opinion on it in like an hour or so though- _just_ for confirmation."

Takeda gave a tired laugh as he let himself drape loose against her limp form. As relaxed and relieved as he felt, he always felt sore; the subtle aches from releasing so much tension at one given time was making itself known in his shaking legs and partly numbed arm. "I can promise you nothing," he replied.

She snorted out a laugh as well before she slowly pushed herself up, carefully peeling herself away from him- and bringing forth the horrible truth of just how much sweat they had accumulated between them. She slowly pulled him free from between her thighs, reminding them both of the resulting sensitivities, before she unhooked her leg from his own.

Rolling onto his back, Takeda felt the bed shift as Jacqui parted herself from him- only to feel her hand patting him on the chest seconds later.

"Come on, cute boy, let's hit the showers."


End file.
